smartphones, Social Media,& Overnight summer camp

A National Survey of 11- to 16-year-olds

Research Partners

Survey Background

Overnight summer camps offer a rare opportunity to research smartphone addiction because many of them do not allow smartphones. For this reason, Screen Education began conducting research with overnight camps in 2016.

The following year, in 2017, Screen Education conducted a smartphone addiction research study with Camp Livingston in Bennington, IN.

​Camp Livingston is one of the 24 summer camps affiliated with the JCC Association of North America. After reviewing the findings from the Camp Livingston study JCC Association reached out to Screen Education to explore the possibility of expanding this research into a large-scale national study of kids

attending overnight summer camps.

Excited by the opportunity, Screen Education and JCC Association began collaborating in the winter of 2018. Stark Statistical Consulting joined the team shortly after to ensure statistical accuracy and optimal data value.

​The goal of the survey was to better understand how young people viewed the benefits of being at camp without access to smartphones and social media.

​The completed survey involved 1,073 overnight campers aged 11-16 who attended 46 different camps for an average of 4 weeks during the summer of 2018.

DOWNLOAD THE "SMARTPHONES, SOCIAL MEDIA, AND OVERNIGHT SUMMER CAMPS" RESEARCH REPORT

Key findings

Respondents are 4X happier than frustrated by overnight camp smartphone bans; on a scale of 0-100, campers rated their magnitude of gladness at being denied phone access at 82, while they rated their frustration at a mere20. ​92%of respondents got to know people better because they didn't have smartphone access.

90%of respondents felt they became more independent as a result of not being able to communicate with their parents immediately, and having to handle situations on their own.

93%of respondents were relieved to have a break from social media while at camp.

80% of respondents felt less anxious and stressed at camp because they didn't have to keep up with social media. ​​Respondents generally experienced a less toxic social environment while at camp as a result of being unable to access social media; 57%witnessed less bullying, 51% witnessed less social drama, 44% witnessed less gossip.

72% of respondents said their camp experience would have been worse if they had brought phones.

62% of respondents believe they are less dependent on their smartphones than friends who don't attend camp as a result of their extended smartphone detox.

​IMPLICATIONS

Smartphone-free overnight camps may be the only place children and teens are able to experience an​ extended digital detox. Given the enormous problems that tech addiction is causing young

​Phone-free overnight camps could be viewed as a mental health need rather than a luxury experience.

Phone-free overnight camps should maintain their no-phone policies, and should not succumb to any pressure they may be receiving to reverse these policies.​

Phone-free overnight camp should be accessible to every young person.

people, and given tremendous psychological benefits children and teens say they derive from this digital detox, we suggest the following:​​​ ​

Barriers to participating in phone-free overnight camps should be eliminated.

We must create new ways to provide young people with digital detoxexperiences that are closer to home, that have a shorter duration, and that cost less.